Archive for May, 2018

It has been a successful, albeit star-crossed, third of a century for a group of young women who have played field hockey along the banks of the Susquehanna River in a town of Selinsgrove, Pa., population 5,383.

For the past 34 years, Cathy Keiser has poked, prodded, and willed her teams to an outsized influence on the game of field hockey nationwide. She announced her retirement from coaching the Seals just this week as one of only a handful of scholastic coaches with more than 600 victories.

She was instrumental in the development of former U.S. international Keli Smith, who was part of perhaps the greatest front line in the history of the NCAA alongside fellow U.S. national teamers Carla Tagliente and Dina Rizzo.

Keiser also coached a Seals team that held the No. 1 ranking in the TopOfTheCircle.com Top 10 for almost the entire 2006 season. It was a brilliant team that only fell in the state semifinal round to a Kingston Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) team with two future U.S. national teamers — Kelsey Kolojejchick and Kat Sharkey — in its lineup.

Three years later, Selinsgrove made another run at the state title, making it all the way to the Class AA championship game against a good Lehighton (Pa.) side coached by former U.S. men’s national teamer Shawn Hindy. The Seals had their chances, but the game went into extra time goalless. The game came down to a breakaway in the seventh minute of overtime, when it was ruled that the Selinsgrove goalkeeper took the ball and the player on a breakaway opportunity. The ensuing penalty stroke gave Lehighton the win and denied Keiser her first PIAA state championship.

Throughout the years, the Seals played good hockey and scheduled many of the best teams in Pennsylvania for friendlies as well as regular-season matches. Oddly enough, last fall, Selinsgrove began its regular season and ended its playoff run against the same school: Plymouth Wyoming Valley West (Pa.), a side which won the silver medal in Class AA.

Up until Keiser’s last game, Selinsgrove competed fearlessly against the very best the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had to offer.

It will take, I believe, an uncommon and outsized personality to take over from Keiser, such is the imprint she has made in the community and in all of Snyder County. She will be missed.

Now that the NCAA has finished its lacrosse seasons, we’re starting up with the two professional lacrosse leagues. Play begins in the inaugural WPLL season this weekend with games in Olney and Annapolis, Md., with the UWLX entering Season 3 a couple of weeks afterwards..

Last week, however, came word from Lehigh University, and confirmed by reporting by several news organizations, that Caitlin (Williams) Dallmayer was cleared from all allegations of wrongdoing as the university’s head coach.

The indication came in a five-paragraph letter from Joe Sterrett, the university’s Dean of Athletics, a copy of which was was viewed by TopOfTheCircle.com. It reads, in part:

“…[t]he review found no indication that a culture of physical or mental abuse exists within the [f]ield [h]ockey program. There was a general sense that Coach Caitlin Dallmayer, who has headed up the program for the past two years, has implemented significant changes to turn around a program with a long history of poor performance and losing records. This transition has resulted in feeings of stress associated with higher levels of intensity, but has netted some early indicators that the team is moving in the right direction. End-of-season administrative reports and student-athlete and team evaluations affirmed this positive progress, while acknowledging areas for improvement.”

To me, that’s a clear endorsement for the direction the program is taking.

Well, as you might expect, our Top 10 is about as stable as an igloo in a desert this time of year. Pittsford (N.Y.), the defending large-school champion from New York, fell from No. 1, only a few weeks after Owings Mills McDonogh (Md.) did the same. Still, there’s about three weeks left in the domestic girls’ lacrosse season, and anything can happen in the states that are still playing.

Our honorary No. 11 Team of the Week is James Madison University, a star-crossed program which was mired in a decade and a half of being in mid-table in the CAA, and this preseason was ranked 17th in the polls. But the coaching staff parlayed a group of well-trained and motivated seniors to win the NCAA Division I final over Boston College last weekend.

1. Towson Notre Dame Prep (Md.) 17-4

Season complete: Blazers were in every game this season except for one this year; with a few breaks, they could have been 21-0 on the year

2. Manhasset (N.Y.) 14-1

Indians take on Garden City on Thursday in the NYSPHSAA Section 8-Class B final

3. Glenelg (Md.) 12-2

Season complete: Gladiators won the MPSSAA Class 2A final with a 6-5 win over Parkton Hereford (Md.)

4. Owings Mills McDonogh (Md.) 21-1

Season complete: McDonogh made a few too many mistakes early in the IAAM Class “A” final against Notre Dame Prep and never was able to catch up

FULL TIME Full credit to Gettysburg’s team defense in this match; Bailey Pilder had a good game in goal, and Steph Colson was able to bring a national championship to the Colson household for the second straight season, something her sister Lizzie, the Maryland defender, could not do this past weekend

FULL TIME The horn sounds, and Gettysburg wins its second straight national championship

59:25 MIDDLEBURY YELLOW The shot clock is now turned off

59:55 Smart move by Gettysburg, keeping the ball outside of the critical scoring area so that the clock keeps running after any common foul

58:50 TIMEOUT, GETTYSBURG This is Carol Cantele setting up the stall; the Bullets do not need another goal or even another shot if they can hold the ball for another minute or so. Middlebury needs an early steal in order to have any chance to make up this two-goal deficit

58:25 Middlebury is called offside, and now the clock resets. Not what you want if you are chasing the game

58:05 Middlebury with not the best shot in the world; Pilder makes a play on the ball on defense

57:28 Ball down and Middlebury gets it; the Bullets did not get a single shot out of this possession

55:55 Colson wins the ball on the draw for Gettysburg; the Bullets now run their offense, but not in the full stall mode; the Bullets should try for a goal here

55:51 MID FP Kirsten Murphy curls in and uses her defender as a bit of a screen, and scores it! Gettysburg 11, Middlebury 9, and it is now a three-possession game

54:18 GET FP Ball on the island hash on the left, but the Bullets pull it out and choose not to shoot

53:13 MID GOAL McDonagh slices into the fan and finishes! Two goals in 15 seconds! The Middlebury deficit is now three

52:58 MID GOAL McDonagh gets open in the fan and rolls it into the goal; Gettysburg still leads 11-7

52:15 Middlebury’s defense takes advantage of some insouciant play on the part of Gettysburg, who could have held the ball in this situation, since it is now a six-possession game with a five-goal margin

52:00 Ball down, and Gettysburg’s defense gets it forward; Middlebury has scored exactly once this half

51:23 MID FP Ball is on the right island hash, and the carrier passes the ball out towards the office

51:00 Willis gets to Colson’s pass on the crease, but is double-teamed and the ball is down; Middlebury ball

50:00 Gettysburg enters the attack zone and is running a stall-to-score

47:57 TIMEOUT, GETTYSBURG

46:43 GET GOAL Liza Barr from the left wing, ducks past a defender and finishes! It’s a power-play goal! Gettysburg leads 11-6

45:34 GET FP Cole elects to pull it out, even with an open shot from the center hash

45:34 MIDDLEBURY YELLOW Perticone off for two minutes for the check to the head

45:32 GET FP Cole is at the center-left hash, and she is hit high!

44:21 GET GOAL Barr shoots across the her body to the opposite post! It is her fourth of the match, and the Bullets lead 10-6

43:00 Pilder with another save for Gettysburg! Interestingly, she has the best save percentage of any eligible goalie in the three NCAA divisions, over 60 percent

42:05 TIMEOUT, MIDDLEBURY

42:02 GET FP and GOAL Willis on the right hash, and hits the top corner! Gettysburg leads 9-6

40:44 MID GOAL Georgia Carroll cuts at the crease and shoots it over the goalie; Gettysburg still leads 8-6

38:04 GET FP Lauren Cole from the left hash, makes a hi-lo fake, and finishes! Gettysburg takes an 8-5 lead

37:14 GET GOAL Colson finds Katie Willis in the final third, and finishes just inside the post! Gettysburg leads 7-5

36:42 GET FP Katie Willis on the right hash, but passes it out, whereupon the ball is dropped and Middlebury is awarded the ball

35:00 Kate Farber with another stop for Middlebury; she and Bailey Pilder are playing a version of “Can You Top This?”

34:00 Both sides trying their opposing defenses, and the goalies have made the stops; it’s as if though the attacks are trying a bit too hard to get the perfect shot

30:00 The second half is under way

HALFTIME A big battle has been brewing in the midfield, but it’s not on the draw.Instead, it’s the battle for the ground balls after the draw. Steph Colson for Gettysburg and Hollis Perticone for Middlebury have been having a go on every draw

HALFTIME Like yesterday, I think the offense which finds the answer first is going to be the team that wins the championship; both teams have been playing well on defense, from the goal out

HALFTIME Middlebury has changed defenses several times over the course of the half, as you might expect from Kate Livesay, a disciple of Missy Foote. But Carol Cantele, remember, was on the U.S. coaching staff for the FIL World Cup last year, and knows a thing or two about stopping opposing players and tactics

HALFTIME The whistle goes, and the sides go to the locker room with the Bullets leading 6-5

28:40 Middlebury wins the draw and will likely hold for the final shot as the possession clock is turned off

27:39 MID FP Welsh pulls it out; no need to waste the EMO even with an open shot

27:39 MID YELLOW Evie Keating is off for two minutes for the cross check

23:31 TIMEOUT, GETTYSBURG

21:41 GET FP Barr on the right-center hash, but pulls it out

20:29 MID GOAL Kirsten Murphy gets the close-in shot, steps in the crease, but the goal counts as the game is tied 5-5

15:37 MID FP Shot from the right hash is saved by Bailey Pilder; follow-up shot is also stopped!

14:18 MID GOAL O’Neill with the cut into the circle, frees her right side, and finishes; Gettysburg leads 5-4

13:47 GET GOAL Courtney Patterson weaves through the Middlebury defense and the Bullets now lead 5-3

12:37 TIMEOUT, MIDDLEBURY

11:53 GET GOAL Kerry McKeever runs an iso from the left goal line extended, beats her defender, and scores! Gettysburg leads 4-3

10:00 MID GOAL A three-way pass play finds Kate Zecca on the crease, who finishes! It’s a power-play goal! Game tied 3-3

9:17 GET YELLOW Colson with the yellow card for a dangerous shot; will be difficult for her the rest of the game with such an early caution

7:01 GET FP AND GOAL Steph Colson from the right hashmark, hits the bouncer that goes in; Gettysburg leads 3-2

5:48 GET FP and GOAL A nice pass play from Maggie McClain on the right hash finds Barr on the crease and the game is tied 2-2

5:15 MID FP and GOAL Casey O’Neill ducks in through the picket fence and scores on the far side; Middlebury takes a 2-1 lead

3:43 MID GOAL Emma McDonagh weaves through two defenders and stuffs it over the goalie as the game is tied 1-1

2:14 GET GOAL Liza Barr with the shovel shot on the crease, and the Bullets lead 1-0! It’s a power-play goal!

1:45 MID GREEN With Middlebury in possession, a violation is detected by the table official — likely the Panthers are being called for too many players on the field. It’s a turnover and a power-play for Gettysburg

1:36 GET FP Katie Willis from the left hash, bounces it wide of the post

0:00 The game is on

PREGAME Middlebury is in the blue with white numbers, and Gettysburg with the all-white with navy numbers

PREGAME Middlebury is 20-2, and has won the Division III title on six occasions; Gettysburg is also 20-2 and is the defending national champion

PREGAME Welcome to Kerr Stadium on the campus of Roanoke College, where the postponed Division III final will be taking place today between the Middlebury Panthers and the Gettysburg Bullets

It’s all been going on when it comes to the three divisions of the NCAA championships as they have been crowning championships. Here are a few thoughts from this space:

Last weekend, LeMoyne College won the NCAA Division II championship, bringing a national women’s championship to the city of Syracuse, N.Y. Wonder who thought that LeMoyne would bring a championship to Central New York before Syracuse University did?

Speaking of Syracuse, the Orange may have had a mighty struggle to get into the bracket, but a few miles away from the site of the Division I final, the future of the Orange program seems to be rounding into focus. The U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament yielded seven champions, including the third-highest division, the Oneida. In that tournament, South Florida thumped the Philadelphia 3 team by a score of 16-7, led principally by Caitlyn Wurzburger, who won the Heather Leigh Albert Award as a sophomore and gave her verbal to Syracuse in middle school.

The NCAA Division III final between Middlebury and Gettysburg was postponed from yesterday due to torrential rain. I do not remember that ever happening before.

A couple of interesting debates are going to begin anew after the tournament, and they surround a team which didn’t even make the national semifinal. The first question: was Stony Brook disrespected when it came to their seeding in the national tournament? Second, where do Kylie Ohlmiller and Courtney Murphy fit into the history of women’s lacrosse? Should they be on lacrosse’s Mount Rushmore alongside legends like Jen Adams and Sue Heether and Cherie Greer and Taylor Cummings?

By the same token, there is going to be an interesting debate in College Park, Md. over the next few years: where does Megan Whittle fit into Maryland women’s lacrosse history? The explosively brilliant forward has the career record for goals in the history of the program, but only has half the rings that Jen Adams did during her career. The difficulty of winning titles has increased between 2001 and today, for certain, with the number of teams in Division I and the level of competition has increased off the East Coast with the rise of Northwestern.

As you might expect, one of the new rules played into the proceedings. In the second half, Boston College had just put in a shot from in close, but was called for a crease violation. James Madison self-started and was fouled immediately twice on the BC ride. About a half-minute later, Boston College committed a third foul in the midfield before JMU had a chance to get the ball into the final third, so a green card was duly called.

James Madison, despite not having one of its defenders available for the last 24 minutes of the game, was able to make the plays in order to win. I think there will be a number of teams looking to get religion when it comes to defensive fundamentals in their recruiting.

POSTGAME We’ll have more thoughts and notes tomorrow. Thanks for dropping in and have a good day

POSTGAME JMU’s collective effort and their seniors won the day, but you get the feeling that Boston College, with its excellent junior class as well as the imminent return of Kenzie Kent from a redshirt year. I would not be surprised if BC is voted preseason No. 1 over the offseason

POSTGAME Boston College was up a goal in the 36th minute of play when JMU senior defender Corinne Schmidt committed her second yellow-card offense of the game. Her disqualification not only took out 25 percent of the Dukes’ starting close defense, but also put BC on the power play. BC, however, paid more attention to the penalty clock than the possession clock, and had to rush a shot. JMU would score the next three goals and never lost the lead thereafter

POSTGAME Yes, there were 31 goals scored in this year’s grand final. But this game turned on a defensive sequence in the second half

FULL TIME The whistle sounds, and James Madison wins an absolute thriller, 16-15

59:40 Warden takes the draw, wins the ground ball, and runs it into the corner

59:38 BC GOAL Chandler with a quickstick of an Apuzzo pass! Wow! JMU still leads 16-15

58:59 BC wins the draw to Apuzzo, who shoots wide!

58:55 TIMEOUT BC It’s a one-possession game now, and BC needs this draw now

58:55 JMU GOAL Warden with a quickstick from Katie Kerrigan, who had to make that play with the shot clock running down! How important might this goal be? JMU leads 16-14

57:20 The Eagles win the draw, but JMU breaks out of the attack zone and makes a trail check! What a hustle play!

43:50 BC causes a turnover on the ride, but blows a 3-on-1 situation with an ill-advised pass across and away from goal

43:30 BC works it around, but JMU survives with the interception

42:39 TV TIMEOUT

42:39 JMU GOAL Romesburg, who has been having a very good game, uses speed and cunning to run the crease and score; JMU leads 11-10

39:05 BC GREEN James Madison commits a third foul on their ride; a rule borrowed from water polo where there is a penalty for persistent infringement, and now the Dukes get a one-minute advantage

37:51 JMU GOAL Boston College tries to double-team behind the goal cage, and McDaniel cuts right down the middle to shoot high over Daley; We are tied 10-10! What a game!

36:54 On the man-up situation, Boston College seems to be paying more attention to the penalty clock than the possession clock, and has to rush a pass in the attack end, turns it over. That could be very important later on

35:34 JMU YELLOW Schmidt with a check over the shoulder; her second, team second. Schmidt is now out of the game, and Madison is down a player for two minutes

35:15 BC FP Chandler has a good look from one of the center hashes but chooses to pull it out

35:11 JMU GOAL Haven with an open shot from up top; BC still leads 10-9

33:28 BC FP and GOAL Chandler, from the left hash, scores over Dougherty and the Eagles lead 10-8

HALFTIME Defensively, James Madison has had to work a bit harder, but has found success on the left-wing side of the Boston College defense; BC’s attack has found all sorts of holes in the JMU zone through precision passing that would not have been possible in the mulberry-stick era of the game

HALFTIME As is so often the case in major championship and playoff games, this is a game of runs

HALFTIME The horn sounds, and we are tied 8-8 at the half

29:52 BC tries to work it in for the halftime lead, but JMU intercepts it! What a play!

29:10 BC GOAL Walker a beneficiary of a three-way passing play, and she finishes even while being closely marked! Game tied 8-8

27:05 BC GOAL Apuzzo, so often the provider this half, catches a pass from the right wing and scores to bring it to within 8-7

16:07 JMU YELLOW Corinne Schmidt is off for two minutes for the crosse-check; her first, team first

15:49 Boston College with all the momentum here

15:49 BC COAL Urbank catches Apuzzo’s pass while being left unmarked on the top of the crease; she finishes to level the match at 4-4

15:01 BC GOAL Walker with a precision pass to Sam Apuzzo in space on the crease, who finishes. JMU still leads 4-3

14:15 BC FP and GOAL Taylor Walker zip to the cage and backhands it into the corner! Wow! JMU still leads 4-2

12:30 BC finds a wide-open lane to goal through that zone and a tremendous trail check to send it back towards the JMU goal

11:30 Haven hits the post with the shot! Ball pings about 40 yards out; that’s how much the offset stick has changed the game

10:25 TV TIMEOUT

10:25 JMU GOAL Morgan Hardt dunks it over the goalie from the left wing and JMU leads 4-1

9:15 BC FP Cara Urbank from the center-left, Dougherty with the save!

8:23 JMU GOAL Morgan Hart fakes a move to the office, finds a wide-open route to the crease, and finishes! JMU leads 3-1

7:55 BC GOAL Arsenault is left wide open in the fan, and Scherr finds her for the righty finish! JMU still leads 2-1

4:56 BC FP Ball taken from the right hash, run down to the left of the crease, but Dougherty stands tall and makes the save!

4:25 JMU GOAL Haven makes another dodge from the top, runs down to the elbow, and with a lefty finish, gives JMU a 2-0 lead

3:40 BC with the pass to the crease but Dougherty makes the save for the Dukes!

2:30 Boston College now goes up against JMU’s backer zone for the first time

1:17 JMU GOAL Hannah Haven with the left-hand shot from a dodge from up top against BC’s man defense and the Dukes lead 1-0

0:30 Boston College wins the ground ball pickup on the opening draw, but a teammate entered the neutral zone, so JMU has the ball

0:00 The game is on

PREGAME James Madison is wearing the white uniforms with purple numbers and trim, while Boston College is wearing the maroon with gold numbers and white trim

PREGAME The teams are warming up under cloudy and rainy skies, temperatures around 64 degrees

PREGAME I believe James Madison’s defense has the easier job: cut the cord between Apuzzo and Arsenault. Boston College will be facing a JMU attack which, while led by Gaudian, can get goal shots from all seven of its attackers

PREGAME JMU’s defense was able to survive the best of UNC’s Marie McCool, Ela Hazar, and Maggie Bill, while Boston College was able to shut off Megan Whittle of Maryland and also caused a number of unforced turnovers in the midfield

PREGAME Watch how Rebecca Tooker, Caroline Sdanowich, Emma Johnson, and Corinne Schmidt play well together for James Madison, and how Brooke Troy, Christina Walsh, Carly Bell, and Hannah Hyatt work together for Boston College

PREGAME But as much as the the eyes of America will be on Gaudian and Apuzzo on offense, the story of this game will be the defenses

PREGAME This is a game featuring plenty of star power, with JMU being led by Tewaaraton finalist Kristen Gaudian, and BC having Tewaaraton finalist Sam Apuzzo and her running mate Dempsey Arsenault

PREGAME James Madison’s women’s lacrosse team has a 50-year history, while Boston College’s program is in its 26th year

PREGAME It was thought that perhaps one of the newer programs from a non-traditional area, such as Florida, Colorado, or Southern Cal might have broken through first, but instead it’s one of these two sides

PREGAME This is a game of transition in terms of the shift of power in the women’s lacrosse world. This year, for the first time since Harvard won the title in 1990, the title will be won by a team other than North Carolina, Princeton, Virginia, Maryland, and Northwestern — the G5 of women’s lacrosse

PREGAME Boston College makes its second straight NCAA final after losing 16-13 in last year’s contest. James Madison has won its way into its first NCAA title match after making it to the Final Four for the first time since 2000

PREGAME Boston College, the runner-up in the ACC Tournament, is 22-1 this year. James Madison, the champion of the Colonial Athletic Association, is 21-1

PREGAME Hello, and welcome to Lavalle Stadium in Stony Brook, N.Y. for the 37th NCAA Division I championship final featuring the Eagles of Boston College and the Dukes of James Madison University